LA Galaxy Players Hit Pigeon With Ball During Warmups [Update]

A routine warmup by LA Galaxy turned into an act of bird violence before the club’s match against NYCFC Saturday.

Ashley Cole and a few of his teammates were kicking a ball around when one pass (by an unseen player) bowled over a pigeon on the pitch. “You animals!” screamed the person who caught it on video.

Although the pigeon appeared to be supremely fucked up by the soccer ball in the video, LA Galaxy writer Adam Serrano tweeted that the pigeon was injured, not dead:

In an email, the Galaxy confirmed that story: Cole gave his jersey to Jelle Van Damme, who took the bird to the sideline. “It was alive,” a club spokesperson said.

Update, 6:31 p.m. EDT: Here’s Van Damme lovingly carrying the bird off the field.

H/t to Justin